Life expectancy at birth, total in South Korea
South Korea: Life expectancy at birth, total was 83.63 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy at birth, total in South Korea, 1960–2024
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for life expectancy at birth, total in South Korea is 83.63 years, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 65 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth, total in South Korea peaked at 83.63 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 53.8 years, in 1960.
That places South Korea 14th out of 215 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 56.85 years | 53.8 years | 61.48 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 63.93 years | 62.16 years | 65.55 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 68.53 years | 66.05 years | 71.05 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 73.54 years | 71.6 years | 75.41 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 77.94 years | 75.91 years | 79.97 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 81.73 years | 80.12 years | 83.23 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 83.34 years | 82.68 years | 83.63 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near South Korea
More health data for South Korea
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 2,072 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 69 deaths (2100)
- Deaths in armed conflicts based on where they occurred 0 deaths (2026)
- Deaths in armed conflicts by region 0 deaths (2026)
- Age population, age 25, male, interpolated 343,093 (2025)
- Age population, age 25, female, interpolated 314,477 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, male, interpolated 328,684 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, female, interpolated 299,106 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, male, interpolated 295,765 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 267,725 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy at birth, total in South Korea?
- Life expectancy at birth, total in South Korea was 83.63 years in 2024, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in South Korea?
- The highest recorded value was 83.63 years in 2024.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in South Korea?
- The lowest recorded value was 53.8 years in 1960.
- How does South Korea rank for life expectancy at birth, total?
- South Korea ranks 14th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is life expectancy at birth, total rising or falling in South Korea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Korea data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Life expectancy at birth, total (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.